ings with the Lord, and with angels, so also of this blessed society in the house of Zacharias the Priest. Nor should we pass unnoticed the loving-kindness of the Lord in providing for Mary this quiet retreat under the roof of this aged couple, who knew, at least in part, the grace resting upon her; and surely the Virgin would rejoice the more because of the priestly benediction resting upon the house which sheltered her.

As Elisabeth's child was born either before or at the time when Mary returned to her own house, the mother of our Lord may have been among the cousins who are mentioned in the 50th verse as rejoicing with Elisabeth on this occasion; and so she may have been present when, at the circumcision of the child, the tongue of his father Zacharias was loosed, and he spake and praised God; and being filled with the Holy Ghost, prophesied in the words of that spirit-stirring song which we offer unto God in the Morning Service of His Church, and which, from the first word of it in Latin, is called the Benedictus. It has been, however, supposed by some that Mary was not present at this time, but that she purposely returned beforehand, to avoid the concourse of friends brought together by so joyful an event; and certainly the connexion of the narrative in the Gospel of Saint Luke seems rather to favour such a conclusion. Supposing it, however, to have been otherwise, as from the time of her stay at Hebron may have been the case, one can imagine how the words of Zacharias would strengthen and gladden the heart of the holy maiden about to return to her own

D

house, and to the society of those who, not knowing what great things God had done unto her, might be ready to reproach her for that which was in truth her highest glory, and the fulfilment of that word," Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

THE TWO MOTHERS.

In those days the Virgin, hiding
In her heart the wondrous tiding,
Full of faith and glad thanksgiving,
Rose Elisabeth to greet;

Never yet had angels witness'd

Two such blessed mothers meet :
Each her precious burden bearing,
And the other's gladness sharing.
Hebron's priestly city knew not
Who had entered in her gate,
How the Lord on His forerunner
By His handmaid deign'd to wait;
But the Virgin's salutation
Woke the babe to exultation.

Then o'er Aaron's childlike daughter
Flash'd the joy her infant taught her.
Many years had left their traces
On her aged matron brow,
Yet unto that youthful maiden

With what reverence did she bow;
While prophetic words were telling
Of the joy her bosom swelling!
"Blessed among women art thou !
Blessed, too, thy holy Child!
Wherefore to my lowly dwelling

Com'st thou, mother undefil'd?
For when first thy voice was sounding
With delight my babe was bounding!

Yea, and blessed who believed,
And the wondrous word received,
Storing in her faithful bosom

Those things told her from the Lord;
For there shall be a performance

Unto her of every word."

Then, O then, that meekest maiden,
Like a flower with dew o'erladen,

Showering down the drops of brightness,
Utterance found in sweetest song,
Pouring forth her gladness treasur'd
In her yearning heart so long;

And to every age bequeathing
Words of holiest triumph breathing.

THE MAGNIFICAT.

"My soul doth magnify the Lord,
My spirit doth rejoice
In God my Saviour, for on me,
Though lowly, fell His choice.

Now shall all ages call me Bless'd
Henceforth with one acclaim;

For God hath done great things for me,
And holy is His Name."

IV.

Joseph's Dream.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,

Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

:

And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS for He shall save His people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn Son and he called His name JESUS.

St. Matthew i. 18th verse to the end.

CHAPTER IV.

The trial which awaited the blessed Virgin on her return to Nazareth, and the way in which she was justified of God, and a shelter found for her in the house of her husband, is told us by St. Matthew. No doubt it was with a sad and heavy heart that Joseph, "a just man," learned that about

his espoused wife, which made it seem his duty to put her away from him, as one unworthy to be his wife; and very backward must he have felt thus openly to condemn, and put to shame, one whose purity and gentleness, whose meekness and modesty, whose retiredness and silence, had ever appeared so far removed from all that was foolish and wicked but when he found that she was about to be a mother, and knew not that her Holy Child was none other than the Son of the Highest, the promised Virgin's Son, he seemed shut up to the sorrowful conclusion that she was not the pure and holy maiden he had thought her.

And now, dear children, let us notice what was Mary's conduct under this most painful and undeserved suspicion. We do not read that she took any steps to clear herself, or that she referred to her aged cousin Elisabeth, as to one who had acknowledged her to be the blessed mother of our Lord. She does not seem to have hasted to make known the secret of the Lord, but quietly and meekly she waited upon God, as one who could say in her heart, "He is near that justifieth me." Perhaps now she called to mind those words of her father David, "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass; and He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day." "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;" and again, "Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil :" and so, like her Blessed Son and Saviour in after days, the holy